Hair Always Grows
“The American fucker is next!” Her voice was raspy and strong, I don’t know her name but she had tattoos on her face. I didn’t mind being next. Extra breeze on my neck while I was under this missing patch of the ozone. What’s the worst that could happen? Some Bogan Kiwis knick my ear? The free beer had nothing to do with it.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost. A herd of mammals grooming the remnants of our evolutionary pedigree with the hubris of a lager. I’ve read about this in a Yuval Noah Harari book I think. Hair has been bringing us together since we started. Now I had started getting that feeling of connection and shared benevolence. This was a free trim with a free beer on a free trip to middle earth. Everything was beautiful.
“Hair is pretty weird you know?” I recognized the complexity of this thought as the words slid from my tongue. I held the knot of my hair at a table outside the bar. The beauty of the moment was getting to my internal stoner and I was becoming ontological.
“I love hair,” said the woman with tattoos, she was putting away the sheers, “Hair is real. We need more real. I keep it real. I keep a lot of hair on my box” she finished her beer after that. No one knew what to say. But she was right, we do need more real. Since we were sharing personal stories I thought I go next.
“On the day before middle school camp when I was in 6th grade, my mum gave me a haircut. She pushed my bangs down and cut straight across. Full-on mushroom. I was upset. My mum laughed. This wasn’t the impression I was hoping to make on the first day.“ I paused for a moment, my cigarette was faded. “My feelings mattered, I’ve had to go back to that little boy, hug him, and tell him it’s ok. But, you know, my hair didn’t matter. My hair grew back.” This group of Bogan Kiwi strangers had become kin. Harari was right. Hair brings us together.
“Hair is nature’s clock. Our always on reminder that time is passing.” It was the hair-loving tattooed woman again. “With time we get the chance to heal. Hair is just a reminder to do the work of healing. That’s why I leave it everywhere.”